An atheist dropped in the heart of the Christian publishing world - Nashville, Tennessee. I'm trying my best to keep a good attitude and friendly disposition while being surrounded by people with imaginary friends.
Does “Thou Shalt Not Lie” ring a bell? The Green Family, founders of Hobby Lobby, have been under federal investigation since a large shipment headed to their Oklahoma City address via Israel was intercepted by U.S. Customs officials in Memphis four years ago. The FedEx shipping label identified the contents as “hand-crafted clay tiles” valued around $300. What was really inside? Read more
Although the skeptic community doesn’t really have leaders, or those we hold as infallible, there’s still a tendency to drop our guard around other members who are highly respected. This was the case last week when I saw Neil deGrasse Tyson speak at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism while accepting the 2015 Knight Innovation Award. Dr. Tyson was engaged in a lively on-stage interview with CUNY Professor Jeff Jarvis about the topic of podcasting and journalism. When the conversation seemed to veer toward religion, naturally, I turned on the camera hoping to capture a glimpse into an area Tyson is reluctant to divulge much information about. Talking about the importance of fact-checking and what he called “impression checking” in journalism, Tyson offered a personal example: Read more
Joshua Feuerstein, the red baseball cap-wearing Christian evangelist, and Mikki Willis, the dad who let his son pick out a Little Mermaid doll for his birthday, have been invited to meet face to face on the CBS show The Doctors. Following Willis’ viral video of him and his son Azai in the car after purchasing the doll, in which the dad explained why he allows his sons to “choose their own life,” Feuerstein responded with his own attention-seeking video — accusing Willis of having “no cojones” while putting a gun in his disinterested son’s hands. Read more
Everybody’s favorite Facebook troll is at it again. Last month when Target announced they were doing away with gender-specific signage in their toy and children’s bedding sections, Mike Melgaard, self-proclaimed Internet troll, fought back against the angry conservatives posting to the Target Facebook page. This time, Mike has re-emerged as “Doritos ForHelp” to combat the onslaught of disapproving conservatives flooding the Doritos Facebook page to vent their anger toward the special-edition rainbow-colored chips. The colorful campaign benefits the It Gets Better Project — an organization that encourages gay and lesbian teens who have been victims of bullying. Just as in the Target scenario, the angry commenters seem to have no clue that Melgaard is not, in fact, an actual representative of Frito-Lay. Sit back, open a bag of Doritos, and enjoy. Read more
